Cubs' first-round pick Jackson agrees to terms

The Cubs have agreed to terms with outfielder Brett Jackson, the team's first-round selection (31st overall) in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

According to sources, Jackson received a $972,000 signing bonus, and a physical is pending to complete the deal.

Jackson, 20, was ranked by Baseball America as the second-best overall athlete among all available college players in the 2009 draft class. The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder was named to the 2009 All-Pac 10 team after a stellar junior season during which he batted .321 (70-for-218) with 42 runs scored, 17 doubles, 6 triples, 8 home runs, 41 RBI and a .407 on-base percentage in 53 games for the Bears.

Jackson, who bats left-handed and throws right-handed, was named a 2009 first-team pre-season All-American by Baseball America and was on the Golden Spikes Award Watch List.

"He plays the game hard and has a chance to be a true center fielder," Cubs scouting director Tim Wilken said at the time of the draft. "We feel he has an average to above-average throwing arm, and accurate. We feel we have a guy who's a plus runner who's got a chance to have some power down the line."

Last summer, Jackson was rated the eighth-best prospect in the Cape Cod League. The Cubs will take the time to develop him, Wilken said.

"We'll be allowed to go a little bit at our own pace," Wilken said. "I don't think there's a super cause at this time to force it. We'll see how it plays out. But I think he's got a chance to be a front line center fielder, an everyday player."

In 2009, Jackson began the campaign with a career-high 18-game hitting streak, batting .408 with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 14 RBI during the tear. He turned in a career-best effort May 12 vs. Sacramento State when he went 4-for-6 with a grand slam, three-run triple and RBI single to tally a career-high 8 RBI.

In three seasons at the University of California Berkeley, Jackson batted .303 (146-for-481) with 91 runs scored, 25 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs and 85 RBI in 152 games. He is a 2006 graduate of Miramonte High School in Orinda, California.

Jackson was recommended by area scout John Bartsch.

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